The company updated its terms to prohibit the purchase or sale of weapons “in contravention of applicable laws,” suggesting that legally permissible transactions were possible. Stablecoin issuer Circle updated its policy for one of its tokens to clarify rules around prohibited transactions, explicitly addressing the use of legally obtained firearms and weapons. Crypto sleuths and reports from this week noted that Circle had updated its terms for its USDC (USDC) stablecoin. The terms specifically stated that the platform had the “right to monitor and, if appropriate, block or otherwise prevent transactions” related to the purchase of firearms, ammunition, explosives and other weapons. However, users noted that Circle had updated the terms to include weapons “in contravention of applicable laws,” suggesting that US-based users and others could legally purchase firearms using the stablecoin. Read more
JPMorgan sees Coinbase unlocking billions through its Base layer-2 network and USDC rewards overhaul, lifting its price target and fueling a sharp stock rally. Shares of Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) rallied sharply on Friday after JPMorgan Chase upgraded the cryptocurrency exchange, highlighting new monetization opportunities tied to its Base network and USDC payout strategy. The bank’s analysts lifted their rating to “Overweight” from “Neutral” and raised their price target to $404 per share, implying roughly 15% upside from current levels. JPMorgan said Coinbase is “leaning into” its Base layer-2 blockchain and exploring ways to better capture value from the platform’s growth. Read more
JPMorgan sees Coinbase unlocking billions through its Base layer-2 network and USDC rewards overhaul, lifting its price target and fueling a sharp stock rally. Shares of Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) rallied sharply on Friday after JPMorgan Chase upgraded the cryptocurrency exchange, highlighting new monetization opportunities tied to its Base network and USDC payout strategy. The bank’s analysts lifted their rating to “Overweight” from “Neutral” and raised their price target to $404 per share, implying roughly 15% upside from current levels. JPMorgan said Coinbase is “leaning into” its Base layer-2 blockchain and exploring ways to better capture value from the platform’s growth. Read more
JPMorgan sees Coinbase unlocking billions through its Base layer-2 network and USDC rewards overhaul, lifting its price target and fueling a sharp stock rally. Shares of Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) rallied sharply on Friday after JPMorgan Chase upgraded the cryptocurrency exchange, highlighting new monetization opportunities tied to its Base network and USDC payout strategy. The bank’s analysts lifted their rating to “Overweight” from “Neutral” and raised their price target to $404 per share, implying roughly 15% upside from current levels. JPMorgan said Coinbase is “leaning into” its Base layer-2 blockchain and exploring ways to better capture value from the platform’s growth. Read more
Despite dominating stablecoin inflows, Tether’s USDt and Circle’s USDC have slowly lost market share, signaling the end of the “stablecoin duopoly.” Tether’s USDt and Circle’s USDC, the two largest stablecoins by market capitalization, have slowly lost market share in the past year, suggesting a major shift in the stablecoin landscape. Despite Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC) steadily increasing their market caps, the stablecoins have lost more than 5% of their combined market share since Oct. 2, 2024, according to data from DefiLlama and CoinGecko. Nic Carter, industry analyst and Castle Island Ventures partner, took to X on Wednesday to address the decline of USDT and USDC dominance in a post titled “The stablecoin duopoly is ending.” Read more
The crypto exchange integrates Morpho lending into its app, letting USDC users tap DeFi yields of up to 10.8%. Coinbase is rolling out a new way for users to earn yields on their USDC holdings, marking one of the exchange’s first large-scale integrations with decentralized finance (DeFi) at a time of accelerating stablecoin adoption. The company announced Thursday that it is integrating the Morpho lending protocol, with vaults curated by DeFi advisory company Steakhouse Financial, directly into the Coinbase app. The move will allow users to lend USDC (USDC) without navigating third-party DeFi platforms or wallets. Coinbase already pays up to 4.5% APY in rewards for holding USDC on its platform. With the new DeFi lending option, however, users can tap into onchain markets and potentially earn yields of up to 10.8% as of Wednesday, according to Coinbase. Read more
Circle is now a HYPE holder, has introduced native USDC to Hyperliquid and is considering becoming a network validator. Stablecoin issuer Circle is expanding into Hyperliquid with an investment and the launch of native USD Coin on the protocol, as stablecoin competition on the network intensifies. According to a Tuesday announcement, Circle is now a stakeholder in the Hyperliquid ecosystem, directly holding its native cryptocurrency Hyperliquid (HYPE). Circle is also considering becoming a validator for the protocol. The company, which went public on June 5, is behind the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, a digital asset redeemable 1:1 for US dollars. The token will be natively deployed on HyperEVM, Hyperliquid’s smart contract layer. Read more
Circle is embedding USDC into global payment networks as part of a broader push spanning Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Circle has unveiled two partnerships to embed stablecoins settlement into mainstream finance. New deals with Mastercard and Finastra aim to expand USD Coin's role to merchants and banks worldwide. Mastercard said on Wednesday that it will enable acquirers and merchants in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) to settle transactions in USDC (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC). Arab Financial Services and Eazy Financial Services will be the first to adopt the service, marking the first stablecoin settlement available through Mastercard in the region. Finastra, a London-based financial software provider, also announced on Wednesday the integration of USDC into its Global PAYplus platform, which is said to processes more than $5 trillion in cross-border transactions daily. Read more
Coinbase has revived its fund to boost USDC liquidity in DeFi, starting with supporting the stablecoin on Aave, Morpho, Kamino, and Jupiter. Coinbase is relaunching its Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund first introduced in 2019 to boost the liquidity of the stablecoin USDC in a range of popular and emerging decentralized finance protocols. Coinbase said on Tuesday its first placements will provide USDC (USDC) liquidity into Ethereum-based lenders Aave and Morpho, and Solana-based trading platforms Kamino and Jupiter. “As we scale the fund over time and distribute liquidity across more protocols and stablecoins, we’re particularly eager to collaborate with pre-launch teams or those seeking to drive stablecoin growth from day one,” it added. Read more
USDC issuer Circle introduced its layer-1 blockchain, Arc, and said its Q2 revenue and reserve income increased 53% year-over-year. Circle, a publicly traded US company and the issuer of USDC stablecoin, said it will launch a layer-1 (L1) blockchain compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) later this year. The company released its second-quarter results on Tuesday and announced the introduction of Arc, a new network designed to offer an “enterprise-grade foundation” for stablecoin payments, foreign exchange and capital markets applications. Expected to launch in public testnet, Circle’s Arc will feature USDC (USDC) as its native gas token, enabling users to pay transaction fees with the stablecoin. Read more
Ant Group is reportedly working with Circle to integrate USDC into its blockchain platform once the stablecoin achieves regulatory compliance. Jack Ma-backed Ant Group is reportedly working with USDC issuer Circle to bring the stablecoin to its blockchain, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday, citing anonymous sources. The report said Ant Group plans to incorporate USDC (USDC) into its blockchain after the stablecoin becomes compliant in the US. The timeline for the integration is unknown. The news follows recent reports that Circle has applied to establish a national trust bank in the US that, among other responsibilities, would oversee the firm’s USDC reserve on behalf of its US issuer. The US Senate also passed the stablecoin regulation bill, the GENIUS Act, in mid-June, which would provide legal clarity for stablecoin issuers. Read more